(1) Field of the Invention
The invention relates to an electric connector, and more particularly to an electric connector having an assembly-type terminal module.
(2) Description of the Prior Art
In the art, a fiber channel switch (or fiber channel hub) includes a number of electric connectors arranged in parallel, in which each of the connectors can match a prospective foreign connector. Referring to FIG. 1 and FIG. 1A, a typical electric connector for a conventional fiber channel switch is shown in a schematic planar view and an exploded view, respectively. As shown, the connector 1 includes an insulation body 10, a plurality of terminal modules 20 spaced electrically to each other, a separator 30 and a metal housing 40. Each of the terminal modules 20 is a plate structure having a substrate 21 and four terminals 22 fixed on the substrate 21.
While in assembling the connector 1, the terminal modules 20 are firstly arranged parallel to be set in the insulation body 10 in a manner that the upper pairing terminals 22 can be properly nested in a respective first slot 11 and the lower pairing terminals 22 can be also properly received inside a second slot 12 of the insulation body 10. Then, the separator 30 is plugged into the insulation body 10, and the metal housing is introduced to house the insulation body 10 and the separator 30. As shown, the connector 1 can match two foreign connectors, one for the first slot 11 and another for the second slot 12.
As shown in FIG. 1A, for a need to receive more foreign connectors, the connector 1 for the fiber channel switch requires broader substrates 21, both in width and length (S1). As the substrate 21 becomes broader, the terminals 22 arranged on the substrate 21 need more in length. In the art, the terminal 22 is punched, pressed or stamped from a raw metal sheet. In order to produce the lengthy terminals 22 so as able to be properly arranged on a broader substrate 21, it is inevitable that a broader raw metal sheet is required. Accordingly, to achieve such intent of accommodating more foreign connectors, the cost hike in preparing the broader substrates 21 and the raw metal sheets for producing the terminals 22 can be foreseen. Anyway, such a cost change is unwelcome. Therefore, to avoid such a cost increase upon the aforesaid corresponding improvement, a design change in the terminal arrangement of the connector is definitely desired by the skilled persons in the art.